Wednesday, September 7, 2016

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Statistical Advance: Utah



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.– The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will return to Utah Motorsports Campus, formerly Miller Motorsports Park, after a two-year absence with a unique, action-packed doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday. Below is a look at the past performance of the series and selected driver highlights.

Utah Doubleheader Race Setup:
• Todd Gilliland heads into the weekend with just a five-point lead (424-419) lead over Ryan Partridge and a 19-point lead over Bill McAnally Racing teammate and defending K&N Pro Series West champion Chris Eggleston.
• Only six drivers have competed in a series event at the track – Rich DeLong Jr., Rich DeLong III, James Cooley, Scott Ivie, Todd Souza and Tim Spurgeon.
• The last time the K&N Pro Series West visited the track (2014), veteran David Mayhew took home the victory after leading only seven laps.
• Saturday’s lineup will be determined by NASCAR Road Course Race Style, group qualifying, while Sunday’s field will be determined by a driver’s fastest lap in Saturday’s race.

At Utah Motorsports Campus:
History:
• This will be the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West’s ninth visit to the Utah road course.
• The track was originally created as a novelty track for Larry H. Miller, owner of the Utah Jazz, and various car dealerships to use as a personal playground.
• It was opened to the public in April 2006.
• The Full Course is a 23-turn, 4.486-mile road circuit that runs counterclockwise.
• Additional tracks can be configured from the larger course.

Notebook:
• Greg Pursley has the most victories at the track with three consecutive wins from 2010-12.
• Patrick Long and Greg Pursley have collected the most poles at Utah with two each.
• Ford has the most manufacturer wins with five.
• The most cautions at a series event at Utah was six in 2011, while the fewest was two in 2010 and 2012.
• The average start for race winners at Utah is 5.9. Patrick Long (2009) and Greg Pursley (2012) are the only two drivers to win from the pole, while Andrew Ranger (2013) started the farthest back at 19.
• Greg Pursley has recorded the most top-five and top-10 finishes with six.

Utah Data:
Race: #11 out of 14
Race Data: Saturday, Sept.10 and Sunday, Sept. 11
Track Layout: 3.048-mile paved road course
Race Length: 36 Laps, 110 miles

Utah Qualifying/Race Data:
2015 Winner: did not race
2015 Pole Sitter: did not race
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Greg Pursley, Ford, 117.250 mph, Sept. 13, 2014
36- Lap Race Record: Greg Pursley, Ford, 1 hour 24 minutes 26 seconds, 77.975 mph, Sept. 12, 2010

Utah Race Leaders:
Wins:
Greg Pursley … 3
Jason Bowles … 1
Patrick Long … 1
David Mayhew … 1
Andrew Ranger … 1
Todd Souza … 1

Poles:
Patrick Long … 2
Greg Pursley … 2
Jason Bowles … 1
Mike David … 1
Andrew Ranger … 1
Derek Thorn … 1

Laps Completed
Daryl Harr … 303
Greg Pursley … 292
David Mayhew … 258
Jack Sellers … 258
Eric Holmes … 237
Brett Thompson … 233
Jim Inglebright ... 225
Scott Ivie … 225
Moses Smith … 225
Kyle Kelley … 201

Laps Led
Greg Pursley … 105
Patrick Long … 50
Jason Bowles … 28
David Mayhew … 27
Austin Dyne … 23
Eric Holmes … 23
Andrew Ranger … 23

Selected Driver Highlights:
Chris Eggleston (No. 50 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• Heads into the Utah doubleheader weekend ranked third in the standings with two wins, seven top fives and eight top 10s.
• In his two road course starts with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, he has an average start of 14.0 and an average finish of 19.5.
• His best career finish at Sonoma was 13th in 2015.

Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Heads into the doubleheader leading the championship standings with five wins, eight top fives and nine top 10s.
• In his series road course debut at Sonoma this year, he finished 24th after getting caught in a wreck on Lap 1.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.

Noah Gragson (No. 7 SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers International Ford)
• Is ranked fifth in the championship standings with five top fives and nine top 10s.
• In his two K&N Pro Series West starts at Sonoma, he has an average start of 8.0 and an average finish of 4.5.
• He finished second at Sonoma this season after leading 34 of the 64 laps.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.

Riley Herbst (No. 19 NOS Energy Drink Toyota)
• Is sixth in the championship standings with five top fives and eight top 10s.
• In his series road course debut at Sonoma, he finished fifth after starting 10th.

Julia Landauer (No. 54 Curb Records Toyota)
• Is seventh in the standings headed into this weekend’s doubleheader with four top fives and nine top 10s.
• In her K&N Pro Series West road course debut at Sonoma this season, she finished 11th after qualifying sixth.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.

Ron Norman (No. 30 Port of Tucson/Tucson Speedway/Chuy’s Ford)
• Heads into the weekend ranked 10th in the championship standings with five top fives.
• In his two series starts at Sonoma, he has an average start of 30.5 and an average finish of 26.0.
• His best career finish at Sonoma was 22nd in June.

Ryan Partridge (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Heads into the weekend second in the championship standings with two wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s.
• In his two K&N Pro Series West starts at Sonoma, he has an average start of 4.5 and an average finish of 4.0.
• His best career at Sonoma is fourth, which he earned the last two seasons.

Blaine Perkins (No. 21 Four Star Fruit Chevrolet)
• Is ranked ninth in the championship standings headed into the weekend with one top five and six top 10s.
• In his sole Sonoma road course start with the series, he finished 21st after starting 19th.

Gracin Raz (No. 27 Montana Tech Ford)
• Is ranked fourth in the championship standings with seven top fives and eight top 10s.
• In his two series starts at Sonoma, he has an average start of 14.0 and an average finish of 7.0.
• His best career finish at Sonoma is seventh, which he earned in June.

Cole Rouse (No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Heads into the doubleheader weekend ranked eighth in the championship standings with three top fives and eight top 10s.
• In his series road course debut at Sonoma in June, he finished 10th after starting eighth.

Other Driver Notes:
• James Cooley will be making his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season debut at Utah this weekend. In his one start at the road course, he finished 17th after starting 19th.
• Rich DeLong Jr. will be making his second and third starts of the season this weekend. In his only start at Utah in 2014, he finished 20th.
• Rich DeLong III heads into the weekend ranked 13th in the championship standings. In his only start at the track in 2014, he finished 13th after starting 18th.
• Scott Ivie will also be making his second and third starts of the year this weekend. In his six starts at Utah, he has an average start of 19.5 and an average finish of 16.3.
• Todd Souza will be making his third and fourth start of the year at Utah. In his five starts at Utah he has an average start of 9.2 and an average finish of 9.4. He also took home the win in 2008 after leading only two laps.
• Tim Spurgeon joins the list of drivers making their second and third start of the season. In his only start at Utah in 2010, he finished 20th.

Up To Speed:
• The 2016 season is the 63rd for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
• The 2016 schedule features 14 races at 13 different tracks across eight states.
• Third-generation driver Todd Gilliland won the season opener at California’s Irwindale Speedway on March 19 after leading a total of 33 laps.
• Gilliland expanded his K&N Pro Series West streak to three after winning the second race of the season at California’s Kern County Raceway Park.
• Ryan Partridge collected his first win of the year at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway after leading 127 laps.
• Chris Eggleston, the defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion, picked up his first win of 2016 after gaining the lead with nine laps to go at California’s Orange Show Speedway.
• Eggleston made it two-for-two after leading 102 laps at his home track, Colorado National Speedway.
• Chase Elliott scored the first road course victory of the year at California’s Sonoma Raceway after passing Noah Gragson with two laps to go.
• Todd Gilliland scored his third win of the year at Idaho’s Stateline Speedway after crossing the finish line .004 seconds in front of Gragson.
• Todd Gilliland won the K&N Pro Series combination event at Iowa Speedway to make it two-for-two and collect his four win of the season.
• Gilliland continued his win streak at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway after dominating the field and leading all 150 laps.
• Ryan Partridge put an end to Gilliland’s win streak after winning the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Oregon’s Douglas County Speedway. He led a total of 36 laps to take home his second victory of the season.